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Monthly Archives: July 2008

As I got to CMS “central”, I happened upon a drama that was just unfolding. A mobile police with a gun, beating one of the touts or possibly bus drivers with a long rod. He asked the tout to kneel down while he continued to whip him with the rod. The rod broke twice. All the while people in the crowd kept telling the tout to just take off and run away. So finally he got up the nerve and just took off. The police man cocked his gun, fire a single shot from the gun straight up into the air, and then brought the gun level and pointing at the man who was now swiftly making his way through the crowd. At some point, I was not sure the police man wasn’t going going to shoot at the guy, but I guess the large crowd in the place made him change his mind. He then took off after the man.

I got on a bus from CMS to V/I that was owned by an off-duty (I hope) soldier. I sat in front with the driver. He had on his green army trousers, his shirt was on his laps, and his berret was on the dash board. My eyes were drawn to a cloth flyer that he hung on his rearview mirror with the following inscription and the military motto (probably):
ARMY: The carrier that commands respect
VICTRORY IS FROM GOD ALONE

… from Charlotte, NC to Cleveland, Ohio.
A man seated close to the front of the bus stood up, and clearing his throat said:

“Hope y’all having a good day. I axed my broda upfront (the driver) and he says if none of yous have no objetion, I can do my bi-ness real quick.” He looked like a gang banger but without the jewelry, and he had a belt and his trouser was at the right place on his waist. He also sounded like one. If I had come across him on the street, one look at him and I would have classified him as one.
“Any objetion? No? God bless y’all. So I won’t waste your time, I do my bi-ness real quick like ah promised.”
“Someone praise the Lord in this here bus!”
A few people including yours truly said hesitant “alleluias”.
“Don’t be ashamed of the Lord now. Even people praise the Lord in China where they throw your sorry-a*s in jail if they see you got religion. I said someone praise the Lord!”. A few more people joined in and the volume went up a notch.”
Despite myself and being a Christian, I still couldn’t help thinking this wasn’t supposed to be allowed on the bus.
“Thank you brodas ‘n sistas”
“I here to tell y’all that God loves you. I ain’t no preacher but I try. I tell y’all it’s really hard but I try and read ma bible at lis twice a week. And here is what the Lord tells me to tell y’all”
“We all sorry-a*s sinners and we going to hell if we don’t stop sinning and believe on his son Jesus Christ.”
“I will tell y’all about myself. I used to be a sorry-a*s punk-a*s dope-dealer. I don do many things I ain’t proud of, things would break my ma’s heart all over again in heaven if she known about them. I used to be known as “King of the hill” in my hood back in the day. I was informed to stop telling that part of my story on account that the FBI can still whup my a*s into jail if they heard about it. But I look y’all over and y’all fine brodas and sistas – hmm! Not looking FBI at all. You know, in suits with glasses and looking piss-a*s ‘n all. So as I said, I sell you anything you need back in the day, and I sell to you whether you in the crib or bent like my old granpa (God bless his raggedy soul, but I doubt he in heaven, he was cursing ‘n fornicating ‘n pinchin his granchidren bottom ‘n smoking weed till the day his heart give up on him). I know three of people in my hood who die of the shit me and my crew sold in them days. Regularly, we fighting other gangs in the hood, people on both sides die, and ordinary folks on the streets end up dead too. I didn’t shoot up or nothing – that shit be the end of you, no stopping once you hooked, but I smoked weed and drank shit. I party from Thursday night till Tueday morning. Bitches – sorry women – all over the place you can’t put your foot down without stepping on somethin’.
Then one day after drinking and smoking myself stupid, I got in ma car, put ma foot down and was going home in ma bad-a*s ’69 Cardillac on I-64. One hand on the wheel and the other holding a bottle. I come to a point where I see a sign says “Diversion, turn left” – I is so drunk I couldn’t rightly tell ma left from ma right, I turned ma wheel right instead of left. I crash so bad, when my head stop clear I was lying on the ground outside ma car. I was sitting with ma back ‘gainst what was left of my wheels when I supposed I don go wet myself. I was about to start laughin’ at myself when it was like someone stab me with knife on my side. I look down and seen my blood flowing like water down the road. I know right away if I don’t get help I goin’ die right there on the road. Then something happen, like someone slap me good and proper alongside my head and my eyes become clear. I was looking round for the nigga do it, when I heard a voice that said “Son, what you doing sitting on the ground” I look round but seen nobody, I thought I was losing ma mind when the voice came again, “Son. You don live your life anyhow, sold poison to people, done many bad things, now you dying and you going straight to hell. Your raggedy a*s goin’ burn forever”
I couldn’t seen nobody around, “who you looking for boy? The ghosts of those don die by your hand, your gun and the shit you sellin’ ?”
I scared shitless, but you don’t get to be the king if you scare easy. I said “show your face, and let me hear you say it to my face, you punk-a*s m—-f–k-r!”
Another had slap and I known who it was – my ma used to slap me same way when she was alive long time ago and she an angel so I rightly known it was her from heaven or God or Jesus slapping ma face.
“You dying and still cursin’ boy? I givin’ you your last chance – what you going do? You bleeding bad and if you ain’t got no help quick you goin’ die and go to hell real quick”
I ain’t known why, but it came to ma mind that the Lord wanted me to commit myself, so I think real quick and decided the easiest thing I could do was tell people about Him, I don’t know how I came about that, but I think it goin’ be easy – who goin’ lissen anyways – people in my broke-a*s neighborhood? I said a a quick prayer – please forgive me ma sins Lord, wash me clean, and save me. And whenever I get the chance, I tell people about you.”
So the Lord said “smart a*s m—f–k-r, you going tell people about me alright – if you think you going cruise around in your pimping ride all day, smoking weed, carrying women and selling shit, you don’t know nothin’ yet. You goin be travelling ‘n telling people about me” He didn’t say those exact words, but somethin’ similar.
Right away, I feel like I am starting to die, and a car pulls over. The man come over, seen me, try his phone but he ain’t got no signal. So he help me in his car and drove me to the hospital. On the way I axe how he came to be right there and right at the right time and he told me he a painter. He traveling to Virginia, but he stop take pictures of some flowers along the way and he wasted some time. He aims to paint them when he gets where’s goin. I thunk to ma self, the Lord don go set me up, he known the man was a coming anyways, and he trick me to commit maself just before he shown up. Right then, I got another slap – and I understand quick that He works mysteriously to brung the man to the spot right at that time. I made it to the hospital and so here I am.”
I got out of the hospital and as I had no qualifications, I got a job at a construction site carrying cement. I tell y’all it wasn’t easy having been livin’ like a king just a month before. I was hanging out with them tough m—f–ke-rs, trying not to smoke, and not go back to my old ways. They laughing at me whenever I be reading the bible or I try tell them about the Lord Jesus. Finally, I got one security job which was much easier with plenty time on my hands. I got one of them remote schools and started learning for my GSE. I don passed and now I am doing remote part time bible school. Currently, I heading to Ohio to start as male secretary to one man owns a construction company down there. He impressed by my background and how God don change my life around so he give me a job as his secretary.”
I don said all I aim to say, so I am asking you all to stop all your sinful ways and convert right quick.
The Lord’s coming soon and he sees y’all running up and down with your punk-a*s pretending to be busy doing nothin’
He seen you fornicatin’ and sleeping with them men and women. He seen your sorry-a*s cheating on your taxes. Don’t you know he said you shuld obey the government and pay your taxes? He seen your punk-a*s thrashing your neighbor and talkin’ bad about him behind his back. He seen your broke-a*s stealing from your customers and swearing on His name that you making no profit all day long. He seen all the sins you sinning. So am asking you to get your broke-a*s butt of your seat right now and get on your punk-a*s nees and ask Him for his forgiveness. If He change me, He can change you. Don’t wait till tomorrow. You never known if you still be eating kentucky Fries or lying in a mortuary somewhere. I tell y’all today is the day to accept Jesus Christ. Let him change you from your wicked ways. I don my bit and tesified to you’all. Thank you for havin’ patient with me and lissenin’ to my preaching at you. One America. One God. One heaven with straight and narrow road and tight-a*s gate at the end. God loves you. Peace.

So I was on the queue to the last check-in area before we actually boarded the plane. The older man at the choke point checked each person’s passport and then asked “final destination.” He looked friendly enough and looked like someone who had a sense of humour so when it got to my turn, I said “Heaven”. He laughed and commented that just the day before a white man said he was going to hell because he was “Esu” (satan). I commented that he had probably gone into the hinterland and contacted our “people”. There was very “active” group with one of them in front of me. He kindly pointed out the father of the current speaker to me. The staff I previously mentioned kept asking some people in front of me whether they were part of the group, so I asked the man in front of me what group they belonged to and he said they were members of the house (senators/honorables).

I took the greyhound bus from Charlotte, NC to Cleveland, Ohio. The bus more or less broke down about 2hours into the journey at Wythefield. The driver said we had lost 3 lognuts from one of the wheels, so the company had to send another bus from Charlotte. We ended up staying there for about 6 hours. I finally got to my destination 6 hours late. Came out of the Greyhound station and the taxi man told me the fare to Akron was $92. He asked if I was ready to go and I told him it was a little expensive for me and that I needed to consider my options. Afterall, I paid $115 for the 670miles from Charlotte to Ohio, and I was being asked to pay $91 for a 25mile trip! Just about that time, “Tony” came out to smoke a cigarette, he conversationally narrated his woes to me – he came all the way from California and was also going to Akron. He said the lady at the Greyhound desk at California spoke Spanish and understood very little English and mistakenly booked his ticket with the destination as Cleveland instead of Akron (shorter journey) so he ended up paying more for the wrong destination. I welcomed him to the club. He said he tried to get it fixed at all the subsequent stations were the bus checked in, but it proved impossible, but that at Ohio, the guy at the desk fixed it in about 10seconds. He then told me that he was placed on a Greyhound bus to Akron which would take off at 8:55am free of charge. The time was about 8:15am at the moment. So I rushed in and bought a ticket for about $10 and I was placed on an earlier bus leaving at 8:25am. I got to Greyhound station at Akron, asked the way to downtown from a couple of guys at the bus station, They were very helpful, even going so far as asking the driver to assist me in locating the right stop. I finally got off at “the main place” – like the station for the Akron Metro Line. I bought a whole day pass for $3 and went on a merry go round trip of Akron to get to my destination. I called my cousin from a doughnut shop (using an AT & T card) and left him a voice mail. I then went to take a look at Burial ground on the South Avenue close to Tallmadge circle. There were chipmunks scampering about among the graves and headstones. I read a few of the names and calculated the number of years they were alive – varied from 2 to 86years for some of the headstones close to the curb.
My cousin showed up soon, he had got the message and called back, but I had already left the store. Dropped me off at the Cinema where I watched the new Pixar animation move “Wall-E”. It was just Ok, the pace was a little slow because I actually nodded off a couple of time, which never happens to me except on very rare occasions. I think I will go see Wanted next time.